Shadow of the Colossus

Yeah I know I'm skipping over this game's predecessor, Ico, which is more of a cult hit than Shadow of the Colossus is, but I have a good reason for that. I don't own Ico... yet. But rest assured when I do get my hands on it I will review it promptly. Besides it kinda works that I should review Shadow of the Colossus first; people who have played both these games will have already realized why, so anyway on with the review.

Background: Developed by Team Ico under the working title Nico, (short for Next Ico) Shadow of the Colossus proved to be something different right from the beginning. Fumito Ueda, lead designed of Shadow of the Colossus and Ico, expressed that he wanted to make a game that was similar to Ico, but also remained completely different. He wanted to make the game feel as "organic" as possible, in order to do this the game had to be programed from the ground up to allow for more immersible gameplay and realistic in game physics.

Overall Shadow of the Colossus has been well received, and has been praised as one of the PS2's best titles by critics and fans alike.

Story: The story revolves around a young man named Wander, who has brought the body of his girlfriend to a far off temple in hopes to bring her back to life using an ancient spell. Upon arriving a disembodied voice tells Wander that in order to bring her back to life he will have to seek out and slay the 16 Colossi that roam the surrounding lands. Wander is warned that the price of the ritual will be heavy, but he states that it does not matter, and along with his trusty horse Agro, sets off in search of the Colossi.

Almost all of the story is told at the beginning and the end, with little being told during the actual game. While playing you get a sense of loneliness and foreboding, as if slaying each Colossi is an unforgivable sin. You are never sure until the very end if what you are doing is right or wrong, or inconsequential. There are no enemies other than the Colossi, no villages, towns or other characters in which you can interact with. It's just you and your horse, so naturally you start to bond with the only living thing that doesn't try to kill you. All in all this is a very dark game that blurs the lines between right and wrong, while at the same time promoting companionship and undying love, and I for one am glad to have experienced such an amazing story.

Gameplay: As you probably already guessed, the Colossi are huge. Like REALLY huge, and the only way to defeat them is to find the weak points on their bodies, climb to them (yeah, your climbing on the Colossi) and inflict some serious damage by stabbing with your sword. This is easier said than done though; the Colossi know why your there and will do whatever it takes to stop you, whether that be crushing you with their weapons, shaking you off their bodies until you fall, or stomping on you with there massive feet. Though before you can fight them you will first have to find them, which is a feat all it's own.

You start off at the temple, and by holding your sword to the sun a beam will appear which shows you exactly where the immense beast is. The challenge in this is determining whether you need to go around something, climb over it, or deviate to another area to find the correct path. The lands are immense and almost completely devoid of life. While riding your horse to your next destination, you will notice plenty of ruined structures, which makes you wonder what took place in this land, who built these monuments, and what happened to them.

As much as I love Shadow of the Colossus, it is one of the most frustrating games I have ever played. Each Colossus has a different way in which to beat it, your job is to find out how to defeat it, making it somewhat like a puzzle game. This is fine, but you start to feel stupid after about twenty minutes of trying to find a way up the Colossus. Not to mention the whole time your trying to figure out what to do, you are running from, or dodging incoming attacks. Don't get me wrong I don't think they should have changed this and made it easier, I'm just saying prepare yourself (and your family) for a lot of four lettered curse words. When you finally slay the beast, a cutscene will show it's last moments of life. You'll feel really excited that you won for about two seconds, and the remainder of the cutscene is spent wondering if what you did was right, or feeling stupid that you had to look up how to beat the colossus on the Internet.

Graphics: The graphics are gorgeous, and really give off that organic feel that Ueda was talking about. The world, like the colossi is massive, and almost everything can be interacted with. The colossi move around while you are climbing them, making you feel as if you were actually ten stories in the air, fighting for your life, while the scenery reacts when the Colossi strikes it, by crumbling or shaking. The lighting is believable; when climbing, the various parts of the Colossi cast a shadow that stretches and warps depending on the location of the light source. Overall the art and design of the Colossi work together to give off a wonderful graphical appeal that shows off the capabilities of the Playstation 2.

There are a few graphical errors that I have noticed. First of all, there are a few glitches in the scenery or while climbing a Colossi, and since so much is going on the framerate does tend to drop from time to time. Secondly, horse riding isn't as responsive as it should be. Sometimes I'll go to turn, but the horse will just keep on going, only to run into whatever is ahead. You tap the X button to spur the horse and increase your speed, but it seems like the horse only listens when it wants to. From what I've heard, the designers wanted to make the horse more realistic, by making it random if the horse listens or not, because horses in real life don't always listen to commands. That makes sense, but when I'm trying to avoid a tree, and the horse runs straight into it, how realistic is that? I don't know of any horses that would willing run into trees just to say "Hey Fuck you."

Music: The music is really where Shadow of the Colossus shines. As usual I don't have much to say about the music, since it's hard to describe something that's meant to be heard, but I will say it's amazing. It does the job of sucking you in, and bringing the events alive. Each Colossi has it's own epic score; combine that with the sound effects that Wander, and Agro make during the gameplay and it really feels like your part of the action. But what I find coolest about the music, is when there is none. While searching for the next Colossi, the only sounds you hear are from Wander, Agro, and the wind. This is a brilliant device in which to create the feeling of solitude, and when the music starts up for the battle, it only feels that much more epic.

As I said before, when you finally slay a Colossi, it feels as if you did something wrong. This, again, is due to the music. During the cutscene of the Colossi's death, you hear somber music, along with the grunts and groans of the Colossi struggling to hold onto life. This same music is played at the end of each battle, and no matter how many times you hear it, it evokes the same feeling.

Originality: Wandering in a desolate land, fighting only enemies that tower above you, and wondering the entire time if you are playing as a hero or a villain. Shadow of the Colossus gets big points from me in the originality department. Can you think of any game that even comes close to being like this? I sure can't.

Overview:

Story: 4/5

Gamplay: 4/5

Graphics: 4/5

Music: 5/5

Originality: 5/5

Difficulty: Hard

Learning Curve: High

Length: Average, about 7.5 hours

Best Part: The Ending, Wow!

Worst Part: Can be frustrating

Total Score: 4.4 Worth Every Penny

Conclusion: For a game that is truly unique, and an adventure that is larger than life, look no further. You won't be disappointed, especially since this is now a Playstaion Greatest Hits, and can be picked up for around $20. So what are you waiting for pick up Shadow of the Colossus now.

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